


Rolling Hills of Ashes

by buckytheplumsoldier



Series: ThorBruce Week 2018 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Guilt, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), ThorBruce Week 2018, ThunderScience - Freeform, a bit of fluff at the end?, thorbruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 02:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckytheplumsoldier/pseuds/buckytheplumsoldier
Summary: Of course, it was going to be unexpectedly difficult, considering all that has happened in the past few years of his life, but it shouldn't have been something out of the ordinary. It was scripted and written, lawful to its existence. It had to have been what was expected.





	Rolling Hills of Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3! I feel like I'm on a roll here, haha. 
> 
> So this is a prompt that I'm actually happy with in how it turned out. This was just one of those days when my writing was definitely in gear and I could lay down everything I wanted to say. Characterization may be a bit off, since I'm still getting used to Thor and his post-Ragnarok self, but, overall, Infinity War definitely has its own special place in hell. Enjoy and thank you for reading!

He should have never expected anything to be the same. 

Of course, it was going to be unexpectedly difficult, considering all that has happened in the past few years of his life, but it shouldn't have been something out of the ordinary. It was scripted and written, lawful to its existence. It had to have been what was expected.

But it wasn't, and Thor knew that.

No matter what anyone could do or say, nothing could distract him from the gaping hole in his heart, the one that was filled by people who admired him, who were proud of him, who looked up to him as their savior, the heir to his own kingdom of sheep. Yet now... now, they were gone. All of them. Definitely. 

It all happened too fast for him to process any of it, and the next thing he knew, he was knocked out and everything faded from his memory, only loud crashes and screaming being boldly remembered. No matter where he ventured, it seemed as if war followed him, a shadow that he no longer wanted or yearned for like he once naively did. 

The hospitality in Wakanda was rather grim, considering those who miraculously did survive were mourning the loss of their people and their king. They were in a frenzy, attempting to recover and salvage the ruins of their once beloved kingdom. 

Thor chuckled to himself, seated outside of the rolling hills where he had fought just weeks earlier. It was ironic, was it not? To have his own home obliterated by a thirsty tyrant, lose everything he had ever known, attempt to save another land just like his own, and have even that destroyed, as well? He supposed Odin had something to do with it, lazing above in the skies and planning out Thor's own fate. 

His heart ached, tied to an anchor that only went down into an endless abyss. He really had lost everything and it was beginning to hit him now as he gazed out, knowing there was a dome out there, a blockade, that was ruined and tarnished. Its defenses were let down, just like his own. Sure, it can be repaired time and time again, but, in the end, the wall will never forget the damage it has gone through. The memories of it falling will never disappear or become vague enough to forgo. 

Thor would not cry though. He had already shed one tear too many and allowed his emotions to eat him up from the inside. All he could do was simply reminisce. Reminisce of days where he sought out a clear path of what was expected of him, a generic path any prince would follow. The absurdity of such an idea now amused him as he now stood before a forked road with numerous trails to decide upon. As quiet as the road he tread was, he knew there was something waiting for him at the end. One challenge after another. This battle was one enormous boulder standing in his way. 

All he had to do was wait for the next. 

He heard the crunch of grass and soft steps on the soil nearing behind him. As the sun was setting, he couldn't imagine just who would want to be outside in a graveyard of dust and ashes. He couldn't imagine who would want to be alone. 

Turning his head, he felt comforted with familiarity. Short silhouette, grey blazer, salt and pepper hair. 

With this realization, it made complete sense as to why someone would want to be there in the open - it made sense if that someone was Bruce Banner.

Banner was odd, Thor decided, as the scientist took his place beside him. After first impressions, Thor barely threw any glances at the man, set on Banner being just a smaller and more reserved carbon copy of Stark, who had already had a bad name in his book. All Thor knew Bruce for was what everyone knew him for - his green friend that was a beautiful asset to have in battle. Bruce proved himself to be useful, despite it probably being against his own initial wish, and that was that.

Until Sakaar. 

Having no familiar face except for Loki, who was determined to ignore him, though that was to be expected with any younger sibling, Banner was his last resort. Albeit not being Banner himself, Thor had to adjust to whatever fate attempted to throw his away. If befriending Hulk meant getting back to Asgard, then so be it.

Except that wasn't how it played out.

Everyone, including himself had always perceived Hulk as some bloodthirsty creature straight from childrens' nightmares with no control over himself and no apparent ability to acknowledge the outside world. That was all thrown down the drain after their fight, where, to Thor's surprise, Hulk knew how Earth and its people felt about him. No one ever tried to keep it suppressed, thinking Hulk had no real insight or emotion as a human, but Thor was proven wrong. Hulk knew certain things that Banner didn't, that Banner would have no way of figuring out, and it broke Thor's heart in some whimsical sense. 

Although Hulk and Banner were polar opposites on practically every single level, they were, in fact, the same person underneath it all. 

They didn't speak. There wasn't anything to say, really. Sakaar was long in the past. No one needed to comment on what a loss the battle was. On how Thor had one opportunity. On how no one knew the whereabouts of Stark. On how no one could understand if there was any other way to make things different. To have a different outcome.

Everything was already said and done. 

It was more than enough, considering Thor knew Banner wasn't much for words either, instead taking to keeping to himself with a book in one hand and a pencil in the other, neither of which Banner had on him at that current time. The silence itself was loud enough. 

Thor didn't have the heart to say anything, guilt blocking any coherent thought from forming. All he could bear to do was grit his teeth, memories flashing behind his eyes like lights. 

The grass rustled once more, Thor turning his attention to the source of the sound. It seemed to be that Banner had settled closer, hand tantalizingly close to his own calloused one. He simply examined the them, so close yet so far, lighter skin set apart by a slightly darker tan. Thor's fingers was much larger in comparison to Banner's more stout ones, nails bitten down to the bed. 

Without really thinking, his heart holding more control over him than his head, he took Banner's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together, admiring the newly shaped mold that clicked together so beautifully, like two pieces of a puzzle now finally connected. he could feel Banner flinch, almost about to pull away, until Thor began rubbing soft circles with his thumb, feeling every bump, bone, and groove under the pad. 

That was how it remained for a while, Banner's hand growing warm and somewhat clammy in Thor's, the sun setting beneath the hills and disappearing under the horizon of tall forests. 

_Sun's getting real low..._

Thor supposed that even if it didn't work for Banner, it worked for him instead.


End file.
